Jennifer Lo Prete, host of this week’s Blogsherpa Travel Carnival, challenged us LP bloggers to write a post about unusual foreign food finds.

Immediately, I thought of all the peculiar foods I saw when I lived in the USA. Spray cheese – how weird is that? Or powdered eggs? Strange combinations of food is a category all on its own: peanut butter and jelly (jam), mixed together in a jar? And here’s one I never saw back then: Jimmy Dean’s Blueberry Pancake and Sausage on a stick. (I’m still not sure I believe this is a real product). And let’s not forget spam. The list is endless; it’s just too difficult to choose. So instead, I had a look in my local super market – foreign to most of you, if not to me 🙂 – and re-discovered Sodd.

Sodd is a meat- and vegetable soup, comprising lamb, meatballs, carrots and potatoes. It’s a very traditional dish, especially in the Trøndelag region in Mid-Norway. Sodd is a favourite party food, usually served with thin flatbread, beer and some good, strong Akevitt. There’s even a Sodd fan page on facebook.

There’s nothing unusual about the ingredients, nothing odd with Sodd. Apart from the name. British tourists, in particular, seem to be fascinated with this wholesome product. Even Bill Bryson mentions it in one of his books. Or was it Michael Palin? Possibly both.

Have a look at Jennifer’s post to see more interesting foreign food finds, including fried tarantulas, imitation baby eel, jellied cow stomach soup and pig placenta drinks.

Photos by beaufour and storuman on flickr’s Creative Commons